


First Words: Teddy

by luna_weasley



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family Fluff, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26532601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_weasley/pseuds/luna_weasley
Summary: Just a one-shot about how I think Teddy's first words might have gone down
Relationships: Teddy Lupin & Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	First Words: Teddy

When Sirius had died, it had felt like being plunged into dark smoke. The air was so thick he thought he might choke on it. He couldn’t see or hear anything besides his own grief, and any lights that may have been lit were quickly extinguished, fading back into the inky darkness

When Dumbledore had died, it had felt like he had been thrown back into the maze. The path forward hidden, danger at every turn, no idea which way he was supposed to go now. Only this time there was no exit - he was trapped, and he could never escape

But now the smoke was gone, and he had fought his way out of the maze. And it had left carnage behind. Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, Fred, Remus, Tonks… almost fifty had died defending Hogwarts, with many more having already perished at the hands of Death Eaters. And this loss felt different again. This time round, it felt like a hole had been burrowed into his chest, empty and cavernous. A hole that should be filled, but never would be again. With the friends and family he had lost, yes. But also with Voldemort. For he had been destined, since even before he was born, to kill the dark lord. And now that he had, what was left? What was he?

For a long while, he hadn't known. Nor had he particularly cared to find out. His best friend had just lost a brother, what did it matter if he was a little unsure about the future? When Ron and Hermione had gone to find her parents in Australia, they hadn't invited him. It was probably for the best. He wasn't emotionally available enough to be their shoulder to cry on, he knew that. He was staying at the Burrow, just while he got back on his feet, but he couldn't bear to look any of them in the eye. So he had thrown himself into his work - rebuilding the Ministry, tracking down and remaining Death Eaters. But he never enjoyed it. It was just his duty. It was his mess to clean up, after all. So if he wasn't a friend, a family member, or an Auror, what did that leave?

The answer was obvious, really. He was Edward Lupin's godfather

He apparated into the front yard with a faint  _ pop _ . He shifted the backpack on his shoulder and smiled faintly. The Tonks household had become a sort of sanctuary to him over the months. The only place where he could be with people who actually needed him right now

Just after the war, after he had finally remembered that he even  _ had _ a godson (he had spent two weeks moping before Ginny had finally snapped and dragged him to Andromeda's house herself), he had spent nearly all his time here. Even now, after the dust was starting to settle, and people were just starting to work towards moving on, it still felt like a safe haven. A place where he could forget about work, and life, and just spend time with Teddy

Teddy. He was growing up so fast. He knew fully well that he sounded like someone's elderly grandmother when he said that, but it was true. When he'd first met him, he could fit his whole tiny body within his folded arms. Now he'd grown almost three times in size. And he was learning so quickly too. He could sit up unaided now, and crawl, and babble. There was lots of babbling

Harry had never loved anyone more

Andromeda answered the door quickly when he knocked. She didn't look surprised - Harry would often come around without former planning. She had never turned him away yet   
"Hey, Harry" she said "Teddy's just woken up from his nap - he'll be happy to see you"

He let himself in, and Andromeda shut the door behind him. Harry had come to admire the woman standing in front of him - lost a husband and a daughter within a few short months, and yet she had never once, to his knowledge, considered  _ not  _ looking after Teddy   
“What’s in the bag?” she asked, nodding at his backpack   
“It’s, uh-” he felt himself flush “It’s stuff for Teddy, actually”   
He lifted it off his shoulder   
“I was, um, I went back to my parent’s house a couple days ago. I-” he laughed lightly “I’m not quite sure why, actually. I guess I felt I should. And I found… these”   
He unzipped the bag and let her peer inside. When she saw the soft toys inside, she stiffened, but didn’t protest   
“I guess they were… well, mine. I figured Teddy might…” he trailed off “If you don’t think it’s appropriate, that’s fine, I’ll put them back-”   
“No, no” she shook her head, and attempted a smile “You’re right, it’s right for him to have them”

There was a loud squeal to Harry’s right. He swung round, and beamed   
“Hey, Teddy”   
Teddy grinned and waved his pudgy arms in Harry’s direction, giggling. He toppled onto all fours and started crawling towards him, slowly but determinedly   
“You’re getting good at that” Harry acknowledged   
Though he didn’t understand the words, he clearly understood his tone of voice - his hair flashed bright yellow

Harry put his bag down, and went over to his godson. He was a beautiful baby; although, being his godfather, he guessed he was always going to think that. He had a lot more hair than he had a few months ago, when they had first met. As per usual, it was brightly coloured - this time purple. However when Harry picked him up, his hair darkened and lengthened, becoming his own scruffy black mop. His pupils even flashed emerald briefly, before going back to the dark eyes he had inherited from his mother   
“You like doing that, don’t you?” he said lightly “I bet you’ll have lots of fun when you’re older, imitating people”   
“Dora certainly did”   
Harry turned to consider Andromeda. After Tonks had died, she had gone months without mentioning her. Now she was doing so unprompted. Maybe she was starting to move on

Teddy batted his tiny fists at Harry’s face, his eyes wide with curiosity. Harry laughed   
“Hang on a mo’, Teddy. I’ve got something to show you”   
He put him back down on the ground. Thankfully, he didn’t cry - he seemed quite content re-discovering his feet. Harry strided over to the backpack and carried it back, sitting down in front of the baby   
“I have some new toys for you, Teddy”   
He seemed to recognise the word ‘toys’, as his head shot up eagerly. Harry chuckled, and held up the backpack   
“In here, see?” he said, “They’re some animals. Now, you might not recognise all of them, but that’s okay, I can help you”

He rummaged inside the bag, grabbing the first one his hand found   
“Ah. Now, you might have seen one of these before”   
He pulled it out of the bag. Teddy’s round eyes widened - he didn’t seem to have realised that there were things  _ inside  _ the bag   
“This is a dog, see?” he said, ignoring the puncture-like feeling in his heart “Dog. Woof woof”   
Teddy eagerly snatched at it. He gripped it with one hand, while patting the fur with the other. He made a funny little cooing noise as he did it - Harry had come to associate it with curiosity   
“Feels funny, doesn’t it?” he said cheerfully “A bit like hair, hmm?”   
He patted the top of Teddy’s head. Teddy tried to imitate, but his arms could only reach his ear, so he poked that instead

Harry glanced back in the backpack. His smile faded   
“Now, Teddy, this one’s a little bit different”   
He picked up the toy wolf. Teddy frowned, his eyebrows screwed up   
“Oooooh?” he held up the dog   
“No, this isn’t a dog” he gave the new toy to Teddy “This is a wolf”   
Teddy’s frown faded as quickly as it had appeared. He inspected it for a moment, his lips slightly parted

“Wooolf” he said

Harry paused   
“Pardon, Teddy?”   
“Wooolf” he said again, more insistently   
Harry stared at him for a long moment. He swung round   
“Did you hear-?”   
Andromeda had frozen in place. Her face had gone slack. She nodded mutely

Harry grinned, turning back to Teddy   
“Yeah, that’s a wolf” he said eagerly “Well done!”   
“He might-” from behind, Harry could hear Andromeda swallow “He might have said ‘woof’. As in, like a dog”   
Frowning, Harry turned back  
"Cause he's still holding Si- he's still holding the dog" Andromeda pointed  
"No, I heard an 'l'" said Harry firmly

He turned back to Teddy. He didn't seem to be aware that he'd done anything remarkable. He was currently waving both his arms up and down, in about as far away from a synchronised fashion as you could get. He was still holding both toys  
"Teddy?"  
He paused  
"Listen, kiddo" Harry said softly "please can you tell me what this is?"  
He pointed at the wolf. Teddy examined it for a moment, before coming to a conclusion  
"Wooolf"  
"Okay, yes" he nodded "Can you tell what this one is?"  
He pointed at the dog. Teddy paused, frowning, before his face cracked into a wide smile  
"Woof woof!" he clapped his hands together, giggling  
"Yeah, it is" Harry grinned back

He turned back to Andromeda  
"You heard the difference, right?"  
Andromeda's mouth thinned. She seemed to be looking for an argument  
"...yes" she conceded  
Harry nodded

He turned back to Teddy. He had put the dog toy in his mouth  
"No, don't- you know what? Do what you want" Harry had realised months ago that stopping babies putting stuff in their mouth was very much a losing battle  
He picked up Teddy, grinning as he squealed happily  
"Look at you, saying words already!" he pulled him into a hug "my smart little godson, talking!"  
Teddy made a content little humming noise. Harry smiled

Teddy had dropped the toys when Harry had picked him up. But when he was put back down, he didn't go to retrieve them. Instead, he grabbed Harry's backpack, investing the new feeling of the fabric  
"Hang on, Teddy, there's one toy left"  
Teddy blinked at him, waiting  
"You probably won't recognise this animal"  
Harry pulled out the last toy - a stag. Teddy reached for it, interested. Harry let him have it  
"No rat toy, then?" Andromeda asked  
"No" Harry shook his head "I couldn't find one - I did look"  
He figured Sirius or Remus had found it, when and if they came to visit. They had probably destroyed it - that's what he would have done, at least

Teddy was trying to look closer at the stag. He wasn't paying attention to the antlers - they kept poking his pudgy cheeks  
"...Wooolf?" he said slowly  
"No, no, Teddy, not a wolf this time" said Harry "This is a stag. Can you say 'stag'?"  
“Sssssss…  _ dag _ !” he raised his hands up in the air triumphantly, beaming  
“Very good! Smart cookie”   
He poked Teddy’s stomach. He giggled, curling in on himself

“Okay” said Harry “I think we have too many toys for your little hands. Let’s put some of these upstairs”   
He put the discarded toys in his backpack. Teddy made a little whimpering noise, reaching for the bag   
“No, Teddy, it’s alright” Harry said quietly “They’re still just in here, see?”   
He scooped up the baby with one arm, carrying the backpack with the other   
“Come on, let’s go upstairs”   
Teddy made a soft noise, almost like a mewl. Harry chuckled

He went to climb the stairs, before pausing   
“Andy”   
“Yes?”   
He sighed, not quite sure how to phrase what he wanted to say “When… when I was little, my aunt and uncle didn’t tell me I was a wizard. All the weird stuff that happened around me, they’d just belittle it, dismiss it. I used to think there was just something wrong with me. It was… quite bad, actually, for a long while. But they couldn’t stop it. Being a wizard was just part of who I was”   
Andromeda frowned “If sorry, I don’t quite see your point-?”   
“My point is that, as much as you might dislike it, Teddy is part werewolf” he said, deciding to be upfront “That’s a part of who  _ he  _ is. And you can’t just ignore that. Nothing is going to change that - the only thing that can change is how we react”   
Andromeda’s expression seemed to have frozen in place “He’s not part werewolf. He doesn’t transform”   
Harry scoffed before he could stop himself “Come on, I know you're not that naive. Are you saying you haven’t seen how restless he gets around full moon?”   
She didn’t reply to that   
“He’s his father’s son as well as his daughter’s” Harry said softly

Andromeda scowled at that. It was only on her face for a split second, but Harry caught it   
“He looks so much him” she said stiffly “More so every day”   
Harry glanced at Teddy, who was regarding the conversation with blank curiosity. He did look very much like Remus. Except his eyes. He had his mother’s eyes.  _ That’s fairly ironic _ , he thought to himself,  _ coming from you _   
“Yes, he does” he said simply   
“Every so often, I’ll look at him” Andromeda said, her voice distant “And I won’t  _ see  _ him. I’ll just see the face of the man who abandoned Dora when she needed him most.  _ Twice _ ”   
Harry sighed   
“I know” he said, treading carefully “But he came back. And if your daughter could forgive him… surely you can too?”   
“She was in love with him. I wasn’t” she said harshly “You can excuse a lot from the people you love… but yes. I can forgive him. But I haven’t forgotten”

Harry glanced at the floor   
“Andromeda, Remus left because he hated himself”   
“He left,” she snapped “Because he was a coward”   
“Maybe, in that regard” Harry conceded “But it came very much from a place of self loathing. He  _ genuinely  _ thought that both Teddy and Tonks would be better off without him. And that came from a lifetime of negative self talk; of believing what society told him, that he was a monster. Now, do you really want the same thing to happen to your grandson?”   
Andromeda’s head snapped up “I would  _ never  _ call him a monster-”   
“Speaking from experience” Harry interrupted “Most of it is subconsciously. Like, for example, if he remembered the expression you pulled when he said ‘wolf’. You… you’re probably gonna need to think harder about how you act around him. And quickly, too - it starts young”   
Andromeda stared at the floor   
“Just- just tell me you’ll try” Harry pleaded quietly   
She nodded “Yes. Of course, I’ll try”   
He nodded stiffly “Okay. Good”   
He carried Teddy upstairs, taking the bag of toys with him


End file.
